Didn't We Almost Have It All
by Tawny-Fern
Summary: One-shot I wrote during my Spanish final. Please hope this never happens. Warning: Major character death. Rated K-plus for one minor curse word.


**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.**

"Gear up." Gibb's voice rang out from the end of the squadroom.

"Where are we going, boss?" Tony asked, hurriedly grabbing his SIG and backpack.

"We got a dead Marine in Rock Creek Park."He replied, striding towards the main elevator. McGee, Tony, and finally Ziva jumped in after him. "Call Ducky."

Ziva did so before her partner ever got the chance. She snapped her phone shut and smirked at him. He glared at her in response. Then, the elevator dinged and the team stepped out into the garage, and made their way to the MCRT van, before speeding off to the crime scene.

"Oh, you poor fellow." A strong Scottish accent signaled the arrival of Dr. Mallard and his assistant, Palmer. And the ME was very right; this was one of the most gruesome murders that Ziva had ever seen in her five years with NCIS. The Marine had been harshly beaten, by the looks of him, then disemboweled. The skin on his fingertips and face had been carefully removed, along with his eyes tongue, and teeth. The crown of his head was smashed in, and, to top it all off, half of his right leg was missing. She could understand removing finger skin and teeth, because it would make finding the man's identity so much harder, but why bother doing all the rest?

"This guy's a wacko." Tony's voice came from close by her ear. She flinched, and he snickered at her. "Scared of me, David?"

"Come over tonight, Tony, and we shall just see who will be scared of whom." She answered, turning. He cocked his eyebrow and took a step forward, staring down at her, their faces mere inches apart. Ziva smiled.

"You two! Stop playing grab-ass and **get to work!**" Gibbs yelled.

"On it, boss!" They responded quickly. Tony turned away from her and began taking pictures of the victim. Ziva felt a twinge of regret run through her. There had been a spark between them ever since they'd met, but then all that crap had gone down with Michael and Somalia. She'd hated him, and thought that he hated her, but he rescued her. And now, things were almost back to the way they were before. Almost.

They were less lighthearted now, getting into deeper conversations than the weather and Tony's latest hookup. He teased her a little less, and she didn't threaten him quite as often.

Because now, she knew that she loved him. He didn't know, and she figured that he was just being nice to her because of her time spent in Africa that past summer. She had confided in him about what happened to her, after all.

"Hey, Zi, are you okay?" Tony's gentle tone reached through her thinking and tugged her back into the real world.

"Oh.. yes, I'm fine." With that, she began taking measurements, and Tony went back to shooting. McGee was sketching. Gibbs was interviewing the poor teenagers who had found the body while hiking.

After a while, Ziva stood up straight, needing to stretch. Tony glanced up at her, and his eyes widened. In a flash, she was falling, and there was the sound of a gunshot. She lay there for a moment, stunned. She barely registered the yelling all around her, or the fact that she was covered in crimson blood.

Wait… she hadn't been shot! She had a sudden flashback of Tony slamming into her, knocking her over just as they'd heard the shot. She looked all around for him wildly, but he was lying right beside her. It was his blood, flowing freely from his shoulder, just above his heart. "Tony!" She screamed.

"Ziva.." he murmured, obviously getting weaker by the second.

"McGee! Call an-" Gibbs began to say.

"Done, boss!" the younger agent replied, his voice shaking.

"Tony…" Ziva whispered, kneeling over him. The other agents had cleared back, allowing them room. "Oh, Tony, you didn't have to do that."

"I know." He answered. "But I did, and it was worth it. Whoever that was would've shot you in the head."

"Tony-" she faltered. "Tony, I've been meaning to tell you.. I'm in love with you. I have been for a while now."

"That's funny." He laughed softly before wincing in pain. "I was just about to say the same thing to you, Ziva."

"Really?" she gasped. "Oh…" Tony began to cough up blood. "Where's the ambulance?" she yelled. "Tony.. c'mon, Tony, please.."

"I'm.. sorry… Ziva." He gasped. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Tony. And- I always will. No matter what happens." She knew then that he was not going to make it. Leaning down, she very gently placed her lips on his for their first- and last- true kiss.

"Goodbye, Ziva." He whispered. One last breath, and he was gone.

"Goodbye, Tony, my sweetheart." She murmured, silent tears streaking her face. She stroked his still-warm cheek and sat very still, until the paramedics arrived and Gibbs, who had witnesses the whole conversation, pulled her away from him. She didn't notice. Her world had shattered, and the only thing she could think was "Didn't we almost have it all?"

**A/N: I almost decided to let him live, but then the title wouldn't work for it. The title, by the way, is the title of a Degrassi episode from… uhh… nevermind. Good show. But I don't won that, either. Oh, that would just be awesome.**


End file.
